Singapore's manufacturing output falls below expectations

Singapore's industrial production declined 2.5 per cent in September, further extending the decline in August and coming in below expectations. 

A Dow Jones poll of 12 economists had expected industrial output to grow 1.9 percent, as signs of stabilisation in manufacturing appeared elsewhere in Asia.

In its report, the Economic Development Board said that excluding biomedical manufacturing, output would instead have fallen 1.5 percent in September.

The electronics sector saw a 12.2 percent contraction as world electronics demand remains weak in the face of global economic uncertainties.

Output of the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster declined 6.9 percent after expanding 13 per cent in August.

Meanwhile, the chemicals cluster's output inched down 0.2 percent in September, following growth of 6.6 per cent in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output declined 1.8 percent in September.